AUBURN HILLS - Detroit Pistons guard Richard Hamilton pointed the finger at erroneous media reports for several issues that have surrounded him over the past days and months.

Hamilton said following practice Monday that his dispute with coach John Kuester has been overblown, that the buyout offer he received from the Cleveland Cavaliers at the trade deadline was misreported and that there was no "player protest" Friday, when just six Pistons showed up for a morning shootaround in Philadelphia.

As for his absence Friday?

"I went back home," Hamilton said. "It was my fault I didn't call them and tell them. I went back to Coatesville because it's not too far from Philly. I called them at the last minute. That's why I got fined. I should have called them before."

Here is a summary of each topic:

Dispute with Kuester
A story published Saturday by Yahoo! Sports painted an ugly picture of Hamilton screaming in Kuester's face during a practice in January, questioning Kuester's ability to be a head coach and saying he had wasted the opportunity the Pistons had given him.

The dispute took place shortly before Kuester deactivated Hamilton, according to the story.
Hamilton did not dispute that he confronted Kuester, but he downplayed the intensity of the disagreement and questioned the report about the timing of the dispute.

"It was just a disagreement," Hamilton said. "I'm the team captain, he's the coach, and it was a disagreement. It's just one of those things. It's not something you don't see.

"It wasn't like how it was reported – argument, Rip Hamilton not playing no more. It was nowhere near like that. It was a disagreement. We talked about it. I continued to play after that. It was just one of those crazy things that came out of nowhere.

"Crazy part is it was (reported) right after the trade deadline passed."

The buyout offer
According to Yahoo! Sports reports, the Cavaliers offered Hamilton either $16 million or $18 million in a buyout Thursday, when the Cavaliers and Pistons agreed to a trade that would have sent Hamilton to Cleveland.

The Pistons owe Hamilton about $24.5 million in guaranteed money for the remainder of this season and the following two seasons, and taking a buyout would have allowed Hamilton to join a contender for the remainder of this season, then become a free agent this summer.

Here is how the exchange went with Hamilton on this topic. (Questions have been edited for clarity and brevity.)

Question: Why didn't you take the buyout?

Hamilton: "Don't always believe what you read. There was a situation there, but it wasn't as documented."

Question: Can you explain what the situation was?

Hamilton: "It was a situation they came to me with. I never said what the situation was. I just looked at it, was it the best for me and my family? But it wasn't as you read it."

Question: Why not take the opportunity to leave this situation to play for a team that could contend?

Hamilton: "It wasn't like it was put out."

Question: What was wrong with how it was reported? Was the money reported incorrectly? Or were you not even offered a buyout?

Hamilton: "It was an offer, but it wasn't like it was reported."

A 'player protest'
Hamilton seemed to chalk the events of Friday – when five Pistons missed all of the morning shootaround and two others showed up at the very end – as an odd coincidence.

"Nah," he said when asked whether it was an organized protest. "I think it's way overblown."

Hamilton said he had "no idea" why the mass absences were reported as an organized effort to protest against Kuester.

"That's crazy," he said. "I've never been part of a situation where stuff just gets out there. I guess that's what happens when you not winning any games. Stuff comes out, people leak stuff, but it's kind of crazy to me."

Center of attention
Someone asked Hamilton why he always seems to be at the center of controversies surrounding the team this season. He said it is simply because he is the team captain and the highest-paid player.

"They've got to point the finger somewhere," he said. "I'm the highest-paid player on the team, so they're going to point the finger at me. I expect it and I take that challenge. It ain't nothing I run away from.

"I'm a man of my word, and I always stand up to challenges, but that stuff is false."